1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a vertical takeoff and landing aircraft that can vertically take off and land.
2. Description of the Related Art
For example, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. JP-A-2005-125976 describes a vertical takeoff and landing aircraft that can vertically take off and land. In the described vertical takeoff and landing aircraft, fans are provided to the front portion and the rear portion of the aircraft. An operator's seat is provided at the middle portion of the aircraft. The operator's seat is arranged such that the seating face thereof is positioned below the rotation planes of the fans. Thus, the attitude of the aircraft during flight is such that the gravity center of the aircraft is suspended from above using the thrusts produced by the fans provided to the front portion and the rear portion of the aircraft. As a result, the aircraft can fly with its attitude stably maintained.
When the attitude of the vertical takeoff and landing aircraft described above is controlled, the thrusts, which need to be produced by the respective fans, are set based on the inertia moments, which are design properties, applied to the aircraft. However, the inertia moments, which are applied around the predetermined rotational axes of the aircraft, may be changed due to changes in the volume and the position of the freight loaded on the aircraft, a change in the weight due to the changing of the operator, a change in the amount of remaining fuel, etc. As a result, the stability in the attitude control of the aircraft may be reduced.